Smoking tobacco and other smoking matter such as various herbs, spices, and other plant matter has been a tradition for centuries. Many devices have been developed to assist in the smoking of such smoking matter, including various types of pipes and hookahs. The main parts to a hookah include a bowl for the tobacco, a hollow tube providing an air passage between the bowl and a water jar, and a hose that provides an air passage from the water jar to the person smoking the hookah. Although smoking matter other than tobacco can be smoked, smoking tobacco is most common and will be referred to herein as the smoking matter, but it is to be understood that any suitable smoking matter can be used. Smoke is drawn from the burning tobacco in the bowl, down the hollow tube, into the water jar, and from the water jar through the hose to the smoker.
Burning briquettes are placed above the tobacco in the bowl to burn the tobacco. The briquettes can be made from wood, sawdust, or coconut, for example. Once the briquettes are ignited they continue to burn, smolder, and maintain an ember for a period of time. Whether in a home or at a public hookah bar, the briquettes are typically ignited over a stove at location remote from the hookah. Once the briquettes are ignited, they are removed from the stove with tongs and placed in a serving dish and transported to the hookah. Tongs are then used to remove the briquettes from the serving dish and place them over the tobacco in the hookah. This process is both inconvenient and possesses safety risks. The process of lighting the briquette requires supervision because leaving a briquette burning on a stove unattended creates a potential fire hazard. This means that someone has to be dedicated to the chore of lighting the briquette, using time and separating that person from others around the hookah. Further, removing burning, hot briquette from the stove and transporting it from the stove to the hookah creates a further hazard because the briquette could be dropped.
The present invention addresses these problems by providing a small, self contained briquette igniter that can be located close to the hookah.